Say What? Regional Accents in England

Kaplan's Guide to the main English Accents

Following on from the England stereotypes article, there is another code to learn, the language of accents to be understood rather than spoken! Like every country in the world, England is no exception. You can watch and listen to our quick guide to recognising some of the most popular accents:

Queen’s English or RP (Received Pronunciation)

This is the accent usually heard in London, for those students learning English at our school in Covent Garden and also at our English school in Leicester Square. The accent can also be heard in the south of England – usually labelled as upper class English. Vowels and consonants are strongly pronounced, with every word articulated. Most BBC news channels will use this accent.

Examples  of Queens English can be seen here and here.

Cockney

A very recognisable accent, this is usually spoken in the East End of London with the use of double negatives and with the glottal stop (where the word is substituted with a throaty sound), as well as pronouncing vowels in a different way e.g. in the word “change”, the “A” would have an “I” sound. Cockneys are also popular for their rhyming slang e.g. apples and pears = stairs, dog and bone = phone.

A popular example is EastEnders, the popular London soap opera.

Examples of Cockney can be seen here, here and here.

Mancunian

This is the voice of the popular English soap opera Coronation Street, set in the working English classes of Manchester.

Manchester is a city situated in the North West of England also home to the famous football team Manchester United. This accent is noted for its over pronounced vowels and strong consonants – such as the word tenner (ten pounds).

Examples of Mancunian can be seen here and here.

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